Disappearing door handle



Feb. 25, 1941. E. c. AKERS DISAPPEARING DOOR HANDLE Filed Dec. 28, 1955ril INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 25, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE 17 Claims.

This invention relates to a door lock, and more particularly to a doorlock having a disappearing handle and especially adapted for use uponthe door of an automobile.

5 Stream lining of automobile bodies is now in vogue and any projectionof any part is not looked upon with favor as it destroys the stream lineeiect, and it is therefore most desirable to provide a lock having ahandle adapted to be retracted into a recess in the door, to lie ushwith the surface of the door, thus completing the stream line eiect andproviding a door having no projections upon which a person entering orleaving the car is liable to catch his clothing. Further, a projectinghandle is undesirable, as it offers a place for the engagement of atoo-l or other instrument by means of which the lock may be broken o-rthe handle twisted oil when locked.

-0 An object of the present invention is to provide a suitabledisappearing o-r retractable handle for door locks or catches especiallyconstructed and arranged for application to doors of automobile bodies,and to provide an arrangement whereby the handle will be automaticallyprojected upon the unlocking of a separate key operated lock for holdingsaid handle in retracted position, said separate lock being arranged toautomatically lock and hold said handle when the same is fullyretracted.

A further object is to provide an arrangement whereby the latch bolt ofthe door look may be operated Iby either the outside retractable handleor by an inside handle, and said latch bolt will be operated to latchthe door in closed position, by the closing of the door with the handlesin any position, without electing an operation of said handles. It isalso an object to provide an arrangement whereby a release of theoutside 40 handle may be effected by an operation of the inside handlewhich is then operative to unlatch the door, and whereby the outsidehandle may be retracted by the turning of the inside handle, and toprovide a simple construction and com- 45 pact arrangement which may bereadily mounted within an automobile door of the usual constructionhaving a sliding glass window, and which construction and arrangementembodies certain other new and useful features, all as 0 hereinaftermore fully described and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which-Figure l is a transverse vertical section through a door and showing alock mechanism illustrative of an embodiment of the present invention,l

5 mounted therein;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section the'line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section substantially upon the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;and;

Fig. 4 is a similar sectional detail upon the line 6 4 of Fig. 1.

A hollow door of the usual or any suitable construction is formed ofsheet metal with an outer side wall I,v an inner side wall 2, and aconnecting edge wall 3. Within the front wall is a slot with a plate 4formed with a like slot, secured upon its outer face and a similar plate5 secured upon its inner face, these plates being firmly riveted, boltedor otherwise secured in place by any suitable means, such as bolts o-rrivets having plain heads countersunk in said outer plate so that saidplate cannot be removed from the outside, this slotted wall and platestogether providing a vertically elongated opening or slot 6 within whicha handle member I ts, the body of said handle being shaped to completelyll this slot when said handle, which is pivotally supported adjacent itsupper end at 8 upon inwardly extending ears on the plate 5, is swunginwardly to retracted position, in which position the outer surface ofsaid handle lies flush with the outer surface of said outer plate 4.Upon the lower end of this handle is a laterally projecting and curvedgrip portion 9 to afford a better hold for the hand of the operator whensaid handle is swung outwardly to projected position by a suitablespring I0 which, as shown, may be in the form of a flat spring, attachedat one end to the outer wall of the door as at II with its free end`resting against the inner end of the grip portion and projectinglaterally from the pivoted end of the handle, is an ear I2, andintermediate the ends of said handle, is a stop member projecting overthe handle to form a stop to limit the inward swing of the handleagainst the action of said spring'.

To lock said handle 'I in retracted position and hold it in thatposition against the action of said spring I 0, a notch I3` is formed inthe lower end surface of said handle to be engaged by the up- Wardlyprojecting end of a dog I4 pivoted at I5 to the plate 5 laterally of thelower end of the slot 6 and normally held by a spring I6 in contact witha stop I'I with its projecting end in the path of said handle so thatwhen said handle is swung inwardly to fully retracted position, said endof said dog will engage in said notch I3 and lock the handle retracted.As illustrative of one means. for releasing, from outside. they door,said. dogfrom engagementwith said substantially upon handle, to releasethe handle and permit its spring I0 to swing the same outwardly to aposition where it may be conveniently grasped by the hand of theoperator, any suitable key operated lock mechanism may be provided, andas illustrative of such mechanism, a rock'er I8 is shown as pivotallysupported intermediate its ends with its upper end portion looselyconnected to said dog I4 and its lower end portion extended alongside akey hole I9 in the wall I and plates 4 and 5, so that by inserting asuitably shaped key from outside the door and then turning the key, therocker I8 will be rocked and swing the dog I4 downwardly against theaction of its spring I6, dsengaging it from the notch I3 in the handle 9and permitting the spring I0 to swing said handle outwardly.

To normally hold the door in closed position, the usual latch bolt 20 ismounted in a guide way on the inner wall 2 of the door and a spring 2Iis arranged in the usual way to yieldingly hold said latch bolt inprojected position to engage a strike plate (not shown) on the doorjamb. Mounted within suitable bearings within the door and extendinghorizontally inward through the inner wall 2 and below and adjacent thelower side of the latch bolt 20, is a shaft 22 upon the outer end ofwhich shaft at the inner side of the door, is secured an inside handle23 for operating the latch mechanism from inside the car. Mounted uponthis shaft below said latch bolt for free turning movement thereon, is alatch bolt operating disk 24 having a radially projecting lug 25 toengage at one side only a shoulder on the lower side of said latch boltand a laterally projecting pin 26 is provided on said disk to engagewithin an elongated notch 21 in the periphery of a collar 28 secured tosaid shaft 22 adjacent said disk'24. A coiled spring 28a may, as shown,be provided and is made fast at one end to any convenient fixed part ofthe door and at its opposite end to a peripheral pin on the collar 28 toturn said shaft 22 and handie 23, said spring being of just sufficientstrength to support said handle in a horizontal position against itstendency to turn downwardly, thus preventing undue vibration andrattling when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, or thisspring may be omitted, as it performs no function in the operation ofthe mechanism.

On the extreme inner end of the shaft 22, is secured a head 29 havingarms projecting laterally in opposite directions radially of said shaftand normally in a plane extending approximately at 45 to the horizontal,and projecting from the outer end of one of said arms is a pin 30extending parallel with the axis of said shaft at one side thereof andto the outer end of the other arm, is pivotally attached at the oppositeside of said shaft, a link 3| having a limited sliding connection withone end of a rocker bar 32 by means of a stud on said bar passingthrough a longitudinal slot 33 in the upper end of said link 3|, saidrocker being pivotally supported intermediate its ends upon a suitablebracket 34 secured to the inner wall 2 and end wall 3 of the door andwhich bracket also forms a guide for the latch bolt 20 and is formedwith a bearing for the inner end of the shaft 22, said rocker bar 32`being thus supported at a considerable distance above the head 29 andalso the upper or pivoted end of the handle 1. To the end of said rockeropposite that to which the link 3I is connected, is pivotally .attachedthe upper end of a link 35, the lower forked end of which link ispivotally attached to the laterally projecting ear I2 on the pivoted endof said handle 1. Pivotally supported intermediate its ends, as at 31 isa throw-out lever 38 having a laterally extending lip 39 adapted to beengaged by the pin 30 on the head 29 upon rotation of the shaft 22, andthis throw-out lever has a stud 40 at its lower end to engage alongitudinal slot in an arm 4I of the dog I4 extending upwardly from thepivoted end of said dog. Therefore upon rotation of the shaft 22 andhead 29 in the proper direction by the inside handle 23, the pin 30 onsaid head will come in contact with the lip 39 on the upper end of thethrow-out lever 38', rocking said lever and through its connection withthe dog I4, swing the same to disengage it from the notch I3 in thehandle 1 and thus release said handle s0 that said handle will be swungoutwardly or projected by its spring I0.

When said handle 1 has been so released by the locking dog I4 and swungoutwardly by its spring I0, the person outside the car may grasp saidhandle 1 and by swinging it further, create a downward pull upon thelink 35 which in turn will rock the bar 32, which, after a certainamount of swing has taken place due to the slot 33, will nally create apull upon the link 3| which will rotate the head 29, shaft 22, collai`2B .and handle 23 and after this rotation of said collar has turned thesame suinciently to bring the upper end of its notch 21 into contactwith the pin 26, the disk 24 will be rotated and through the engagementof its lug 25 with the shoulder on the latch bar 20, will retract saidlatch bar and unlatch the door, so that this person may open the doorand enter the car. Immediately upon his release of the handle 1, thespring 2| will act to again project the latch bolt, this movement ofsaid bolt acting through the engagement of its shoulder with said lug25, to turn said disk 24 and, through the engagement of said pin 26thereon with the upper end of said notch 21 in said collar 28, to turnsaid co1- lar and consequently said shaft 22 back to normal position asshown in Fig. 4, in which position the door may be slammed shut,retracting the latch bolt by its coming into contact with its latchplate, without affecting the position of any of the other parts, as thelatch is free to move inwardly against the action of its spring 2I, itsshoulder moving away from said lug 25.

Upon entering the car this person may therefore slam the door shut, thelatch bar being retracted against the action of its spring 2I bystriking the latch plate, and if he wishes to then lock the door toprevent its being opened from the outside, as by some holdup robber, itis only necessary for him to turn the inside handle 23 from neutral orhorizontal position in a clockwise direction, such direction of movementof said handle being permitted as the disk 24 is free to be rotated inthat direction, due to the fact that its lug 25 moves away from theshoulder on the latch but when said disk is rotated through the turningof the shaft 22 by such movement of the inside handle, the collar 28turning with said shaft and the lower end of its notch 21 being therebybrought into en gagement with said pin 26 on said disk, the head 29turning with said shaft, thus exerting a downward pull on the link 3l,and as the handle 1 is in projected position at this time, the stud onthe rocker 32 is in contact with the upper end of the slot in 3|, andthis engagement of said stud on the rocker 32 engages the upper end ofthe slot 33, will rock the rocker, exerting an upward pull on thejlink35 which will swing the handle 'l inwardly against the action of itsspring It, until the dog I4 oi the key op- 5 erated` lock engages in thenotch I3 of said handle, locking the door with the handle in positioniiush with the outer surface of the door.

The lost motion between the link 3| and rocker 32 permits of iirst,unlocking the outside handie by turning the inside handle 23 in acounterclockwise direction sufciently to bring the pin 3B into contactwith the lever 38 and release the dog lli from the handle l and then bya continued rotation of said inside handle, the door may be unlatched.

if found desirable the key operated lock for the handle l may be omittedfrom the locks of all but one of the doors. of the rcar `and the springactuated catch or dog I4 alone employed to lock said handle in retractedposition, so that it will be necessary to operate such lock or locks bymeans of the inside handle to release the outside handle and unlock suchdoorV or doors, and any door not provided with a key lock may be quicklylocked from outside the car, by simply pushing the outside handle toretracted position. A person within the car may thus lock or unlock anyone or all of the doors at any time by a manipulation of the insidehandle of each lock, but, with all doors locked, a person outside thecar can open only the door provided with the key operated lock and whenso locked the outside handles of all doors will be in retracted positionwith the outer surface of each lying ush with the outer surface of thedoor, thus eliminating all projections to which some sort of a toolmight be applied to break the lock. Therefore the person within the carmay protect himself against desperados by locking all doors, which isnot possible with the usual equipment where the door may be locked orunlocked from outside the car only.

The specific construction and arrangement of connecting means betweenthe inside and outside handles, and between said handles and latch boltand outside handle releasing means, may be varied to suit the particularconditions of installation, the construction shown beingemployed wherelthe space is very limited, due particularly to the guide way 42 vforthe vertically slidable glass panel or window 43 usually employed inautomobile body doors, but it will be understood that this mechanism maybe modified within the scope of the appended claims as well as the formand arrangement of the outside handle and recess therefor in the outerWall of the door, without departing from the spirit of my invention andI do not, therefore, limit myself to the particular construction shown.Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim is:

l` The combination with a door having a recess in its outer side; a lockfor said door having an outside handle projectable from and re- 55tractab-le into said recess,` ,a spring exerting a constant forcetending to project said handle from said recess, means for releasablyholding handle in retracted position Within-said recess against the.action of said spring, a latch 70 bolt for holding said door in closedposition, an inside handle, and means connecting said handles to beoperated thereby and operative to release said holding means, retractsaid outside handle, and operate said latch bolt, said outside handle 75being projected by said spring when released by said holding meansindependently of said vconnecting means. i

2. A door lock including an outside handle pivotally supported forswinging movement into and out of a recess in the outer side .of a doorto which said lock is applied, a spring exerting a force tending toproject Vsaid handle, means for releasably holding said handle retractedwithin said recess, a latch bolt for holding said door in closedposition, van inside handle, means for l0 releasing said holding means,and means operatively connected to both of said handles for retractingsaid outside handle and for operating said bolt tofrelease said door andfor releasing said holding means by operation of said inside 15 handle,said means connecting said handles ernbodying lost motion to permitprojection of said outside handle by said spring independently of saidmeans.

3. A door lock including an outside handle piv- ZU l otally supportedfor swinging movement into and out of Ia recess vin the outer side of adoor, yieldable means normally tending to swing said handle outwardly,an inside handle at the inner side of said door, ,a shaft upon the outerend of 25 which said inside handle is secured, a latch bolt for holdingthe door in closed position, a spring to normally hold said boltprojected, means operatively connecting said shaft and bolt forretracting said bolt by rotation of said shaft, Vand 30 means connectingthe inner end of said shaft and said outer handle for transmittingmotion from said shaft to swing said handle and to rotate said shaft bya swinging movement of said handle.

4. A door lock including an outside handle pivotally supported forswinging movement into and out of a recess in the outer side of a door,means for releasably holding said handle in retracted position withinsaid recess with the outer side 40 of said handle lying flush with theouter surface of the door, a latch bolt for holding the door closed, aninside handle at the inner side of the door, Ia shaft upon whichsaidinside handle is secured, means on said shaft for operating said 45bolt, and means on the inner end of said shaft for operating saidholding means to release said outside handle and permit the same toswing outwardly.

5. In a doorlock .as characterized in claim 3, 50 and wherein said meansconnecting the inner end of said shaft and outer handle comprises a headon the inner end of said shaft and a link connection between said headand said outer handle, said link connection embodying lost motion, be-55 tween certain of said links, whereby said inside handle may berotated to operate said latch bolt Without operating said outsidehandle.

6. A door lock as characterized by claim 4, and wherein said means onthe inner end ofsaid 60 shaft for operating said holding means comprisesa head and wherein said holding means for said outside .handle includesa dog vto engage a notch in said Vhandle and a lever-operativelyconnected to said dogand positioned to be engaged by a pin on said headto operate said lever and release said dog when said shaft and head arerotated. .Y

7. A door lock 'as characterized-in claim 4,`and wherein said meansonthe inner end of said shaft for operating said holding means is arrangedto release said holding means in timed relation to the operation of saidlatch bolt and the unlatching of the door, whereby said outside handleis first released and projected and then 7i the latch bolt is operatedby the turning of said inside handle and shaft.

8. In a door lock the combination of an outside handle pivotallysupported for swinging movement into and out of a recess in the outerside of the door, an inside handle, a shaft upon which said insidehandle is secured, a spring projected latch bolt, means for retractingsaid latch bolt against the action of this spring, means on said shaftfor operating said means for retracting said latch bolt and affordinglost motion connection therewith, a head on the inner end of said shaft,a rocker, links connecting the ends of said rocker with said head andoutside handle respectively, one of said links having a lost motionconnection with said rocker, a pin on said head projecting therefrom,means for locking said outside handle in retracted position, said meansincluding a dog to engage .a notch in said handle and a leveroperatively connected at one end to said dog with its opposite endpositioned to be engaged by said pin upon rotation of said head andshaft, .and a spring normally operative to project said outside handle.

9. A door lock including a handle pivotally supported for swingingmovement into vand out of a recess in one side of a door, yieldablemeans normally tending to project said handle from said recess, lockingmeans for locking said handle within said recess against the action ofsaid yieldable means, a second handle, and means operated by said secondhandle to operate said locking means and release said first named handlefor projection by said yieldable means independently of the furtheroperation of said second handle.

10. A door lock including an outside handle pivotally supported forswinging movement into and out of a recess in the outer side of a doorto which said lock is applied, an inside handle, means operated by saidinside handle for swinging said outside handle into said recess, andmeans operating independently of said inside handle and said meansoperated thereby, normally tending to project said outside handle fromsaid recess.

11. A door lock including an outside handle pivotally supported forswinging movement into and out of a recess in the outer side of a doorto which said lock is applied, an inside handle, means operated by saidinside handle for swinging said outside handle into said recess,yieldable means operating independently of said inside handle and saidmeans operated thereby, for projecting said outside handle from saidrecess, and means released by the operation of said inside handle forlocking said outside handle in retracted position, against the action ofsaid yieldable means.

12. The combination with a door having a recess in its outer side andprovided with vertical ways for a glass panel in its interior; of a lockfor said door including a latch bolt Within said door, an outside handlepivotally supported for swinging movement into and out of said recess,an inside handle, and means for retracting said latch bolt by a rotativemovement of said inside handle and swinging movement of said outsidehandle, said means including a rocker and links for converting therotary motion of said inside handle to swing said outside handle.

13. A door lock having a latch bolt, an outer and an inner handle, saidouter handle being adapted for movement into operative and inoperativeposition, spring means for urging said handle into operative position,said latch bolt being adapted for withdrawal by both handles, said innerhandle being adapted when moved from a given point in one direction torelease the outer handle from inoperative position to operative positionand to withdraw the latch bolt, and when moved from the given point inthe opposite direction to withdraw the outer handle from operative toinoperative position.

14. In combination with the outer handle of a lock for doors ofvehicles, means projecting Within the vehicle for retracting the outerhandle, said outer handle also being adapted to be retracted manuallyfrom the outside of the vehicle, means for retaining said outer handlein retracted position, means for projecting said outer handle, and meansoperable both from within and without the vehicle for releasing saidhandle for projection by said projecting means.

15. In a lock mechanism for a door having a depression formed in oneside face thereof, said lock mechanism comprising a handle operativelyconnected to the lock mechanism, said handle having a portion projectingthrough an aperture in said door face to permit the handle to be movedbetween a projected position and a retracted position occupying saiddepression, a second handle mounted on the other side of the door formovement in opposite directions from a normal position, means connectingthe second handle to the locking mechanism to effect operation of saidmechanism by movement of the handle in one direction, and means foreffecting movement of the first handle between said two positionscontrolled by movement of the second handle in the opposite direction. v

16. In a lock mechanism for a door having a depression formed in oneside face thereof, said lock mechanism comprising a handle operativelyconnected to the lock mechanism, said handle having a portion projectingthrough an aperture in said door face to permit the handle to be movedbetween a projected position and a retracted position occupying saiddepression, spring means for projecting the handle, and means controlledfrom a remote point located out of axial alignment with the handle forretracting the handle into said depression and retaining it therein.

17. In a lock mechanism for a door having a depression formed in oneside face thereof, said lock mechanism comprising a handle operativelyconnected to the lock mechanism, said handle having a portion projectingthrough an aperture in said door face to permit the handle to be movedbetween a projected position and a retracted position occupying saiddepression, spring means for projecting the handle, a second handlerotatably mounted on the other side of the door, and a link and leversystem connecting said handles to cause rotation of said second handleto effect retraction of the rst handle into the depression.

EARL C. AKERS.

